The behind-the-scenes drama had little effect on Christmas in Rockefeller Center‘s ratings as the special was even with last year’s 1.7 adults 18-49 ratings (Live+Same Day), drawing 9 million viewers at 8 PM. That almost doubled the delivery in the hour for The Blacklist this fall. And while the thematic segue from the Lauer sexual misconduct-impacted Christmas in Rockefeller Center to the special episode of Law & Order: SVU, featuring Benson (Mariska Hargitay) interviewing a rape victim, may have been awkward, the special provided a strong ratings lead-in, which boosted the veteran crime drama to season highs.

SVU (1.5 in 18-49, 7.1 million) surged 43% in total viewers and 36% in 18-49 to its biggest audience since September 2016 and its best demo number since February 8. The halo effect carried over to 10 PM where Chicago PD (1.3, 6.9 million) tied/hit season highs.

Fox’s Empire (1.6, 5.1 million) came back from a Thanksgiving break down 20% in the demo and 16% in viewers to mark new series lows. Lead-out Star (1.2) held steady.

Except for Speechless (1.1 in 18-49) which was even, the rest of ABC’s Wednesday lineup was off from their most recent originals, with American Housewife (1.0, -0.3) slipping to a season low. The Goldbergs (1.4), Modern Family (1.6) and Designated Survivor (0.7) were all off by a tenth.

On CBS, a two-hour Survivor (1.8) was followed by a Bruno Mars music special (1.1). The CW’s Riverdale (0.5) and Dynasty (0.2) were steady.

For the night, NBC edged CBS in 18-49 (7.7 million vs. 7.3 million), while CBS came out on top in the demo (1.6 vs. 1.5).